Recently, I was inspired by something quite ordinary. These days, the most ordinary of acts may be the most significant and extraordinary of all.

   I drove by a home with at least one hundred birdhouses hanging from several enormous deciduous trees. At first, it appeared to be merely an artistic gesture in this Pacific Northwest neighborhood which oozes creative expression. I stopped to get a better look and ponder the surprising display. I simply stopped, put my rental hybrid in park and sat beside the house to take it all in. At first, it seemed a poetic metaphor for life, then a lovely artistic expression.  Finally, a bigger realization fluttered then settled within me like a bird nestled in one of those birdhouses.

  It matters. Intentions matter. It matters to hang birdhouses. Not only does it feed and nurture and protect so many birds, but it feeds and nurtures and protects a longing in the human spirit. It feeds something that is starving in each of us, though we may not always be conscious of it. To bring beauty into the world for a lost bird, a passerby or a neighbor peering out a second story window matters. Ordinary acts matter and often result in something altogether extraordinary.

  Though we populate a free country, we certainly live by a lot of internal restrictions.  A simple thought like "What will the neighbors think if I hang one hundred birdhouses?" can enter our minds and strangle our creative freedom. We can be as free as the hanger of those birdhouses, free as the bird that may perch for a day or a season, free as the passerby who stops to take notice, free as the spirit that rejoices inside of us when we do ordinary things with positive intention and compassion for the beautiful nature all around us.  We can choose these simple actions, even if others don’t understand.

   Hang a birdhouse, or three or a hundred. Get out those leftover scraps of wood, aluminum and discarded coffee tins.  Put your artist inside to work and build something meaningful. In return, we all benefit.  Every living thing will benefit from such an act and your house will most certainly feel more like home.